Large radio antennas, such as radar installations and radio telescopes, often need a covering structure of some kind to protect them from the weather, i.e. sunlight, wind, and moisture and which will preferably be gas tight, this covering structure is refered to as a radome. One type of radome is an inflatable radome. In this case, a gas-tight balloon shrouds the antenna. A blower inflates the balloon and spaces the structure away from the antenna so that the antenna may move or rotate freely. A popular form of such covering is the geodesic dome or metal space frame radome, which is formed from many metal (or other structural material) geometric shaped segments, such as triangles and others, which are covered with an appropriate radio frequency transmitting membrane, then affixed to each other to form an approximately spherical dome surrounding the radar antenna, which rotates or moves inside the radome. Positive gas pressure is not required inside the metal space frame radome, but may be useful at times, for example, to dislodge snow from the outside of the dome, or to aid in controlling the environment within the dome. Another type of installation has solid segmented covering doors over the radio antenna which open to allow the antenna to function through the opening. On each side of the opening is affixed a semicircular track, up which is drawn each edge of a large, nearly electromagnetically transparent sheet of protective membrane to cover the antenna while in use. Other forms of antennas can also be suitably covered by such membranes held above or affixed around them in various ways to keep out moisture and the effects of weather.
While useful in varying degrees, the various forms and compositions of membrane hitherto known in the art, such as polytetrafluoroethylene fiber-glass laminates, have not solved all of the problems associated with use of this type of covering for protecting radio antennas.